One Person Injured In Derby House Fire

A woman was sent to Yale-New Haven Hospital after a house fire in Derby Tuesday morning.

Her injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

Firefighters said they were sent to 146 Park Ave. at about 7:20 a.m.

A female school bus driver had spotted flames shooting from the top floor of the Cape-style home. She began beeping her horn repeatedly, which alerted neighbors who looked out their windows and saw the house in flames.

“Whoever drove that bus, someone needs to find her and thank her,” neighbor Janine Netto said. “All I heard in my house was (the horn). I opened the blinds and saw the flames.”

“Everyone called 911,” said Melissa Kellogg, who lives across the street.

Three or four people were inside the house when the fire started. One woman was stuck on the second floor. She pushed an air conditioner unit out the window and made it to the roof, neighbors said.

Netto ran to the property and grabbed a ladder from a garage. Netto and the woman’s father put the ladder to the house to help her down. The woman’s name was not available, but she was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Neighbors said her injuries did not appear serious.

Firefighters arriving at the scene were greeted by heavy fire coming from the home’s second floor, Derby Fire Marshal Phil Hawks said. Thick smoke was coming out the rear of the home as well.

As of 8:30 a.m., firefighters were checking for hot spots as investigators snapped photos. Hawks was waiting for them to finish so he could start his investigation into the cause and origin.